Feb. 24, 2001
The Purdue baseball team rallied for seven runs in the ninth inning, but fell short of a comeback victory, falling to Illinois State 11-9. The team drops to 2-3 on the year.
Illinois State jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings before the Boilermakers got two runs back in the top of the fourth inning. Following a leadoff double by Nick McIntyre, senior outfielder Nate Sickler drilled his first home run of the year deep into left field, narrowing the score to 3-2.
Pitcher Dave Gassner (0-2) lasted six innings before being relieved by Ben Kaebisch in the top of the seventh. Gassner yielded seven runs and struck out five. Kaebisch walked the first two batters before Ed Tolzien grounded out. Jim Davies then saw his first action of the year, pitching the final two outs of the seventh inning. Kaebisch was credited with one earned run, while Davies, who faced three batters in the eighth inning, was credited with three earned runs. Freshman Luke Howard relieved Davies, finishing the eighth inning and forcing Ed Tolzien to ground into a double play.
The Boilermakers entered the top of the ninth inning trailing 11-2. After Brad Kriner flied out to right, David Harrell entered the game to pinch-hit for Nick Treadway. Harrell, a junior college transfer from Danville Area Community College, homered to right field in just his second career at-bat as a Boilermaker. Following Harrell, John Badylak pinch hit for freshman Simon Klink, striking out, leaving the Boilermakers just one more out. Mitch Koester stepped to the plate and was walked. Leadoff man Mike Duursma then singled, and was followed by a Dave Blomberg walk. With the bases loaded, Nick McIntyre picked up his third hit of the day with a base hit, scoring Koester and advancing Blomberg and Duursma to second and third. McIntyre finished the day by going 3-for-5 with three RBI. Through five games this season, McIntyre leads the team with a .389 batting average, seven hits, three doubles and four runs scored. Following McIntyre's at-bat, Sickler walked, loading the bases again. Kris Luce stepped to the plate, and drilled a double on the first pitch, scoring Blomberg and Duursma and advancing Sickler to third base. Kriner stepped to the plate for the second time in the inning and was walked, loading the bases for the third time in the inning. Harrell followed his home run with a base hit, scoring Luce and Sickler, narrowing the deficit to 11-9 before Badylak grounded out to end the game.
The Boilermakers conclude their weekend series with a game against Austin Peay tomorrow at 3 p.m. CST. Chadd Blasko will be the starting pitcher.